Essay

Introduction to the study of media history.
Background: The Radical Press, 1790 – 1820.
The birth of the popular press, 1855 – 1896.
The Northcliffe Touch.
The First World War: a discreditable period in the history of journalism?
The inter-war period: the abdication of responsibility.
The Second World War: people’s press and people’s war.
The post-war world: the triumph of commercialism.
The sixties: a golden age?
1970s and 1980s: a new generation of ‘press barons’
Conclusion and overview of course.

British newspaper history 1855 – 1986: Wholesale and harmless entertainment - 6105HIST

British newspaper history 1855 – 1986: Wholesale and harmless entertainment

Employ a post-structuralist approach to the study of media history that understands the inter-play between press, politics and the people.

Examine critically the place of the press in British society versus mythological representations.

Apply a rigorous appraisal of the press in modern Britain that places it in a clear chronological framework and extends students’ knowledge through detailed study.